Illinois has some of the strongest gun laws in the country, and much of its gun violence is due to guns trafficked in from neighboring states with weak laws.
Recently, Illinois has taken critical action to invest in community violence intervention programs, close gaps in its firearm relinquishment laws, and strengthen background check processes. In 2020, Illinois had the 27th highest gun death rate in the country and tenth-lowest gun export rate. To save lives from gun violence, lawmakers could regulate ghost guns, restrict the sale of large-capacity magazines, and enact a firearm industry accountability law.
What Illinois Does Well
- Universal background checks
- Gun owner licensing
- Extreme risk protection orders
- Domestic violence gun laws
- Minimum age laws
- Waiting periods
- Open carry regulations
- Child access prevention laws
- Community violence intervention funding
- Lost & stolen firearm reporting
- Ghost gun regulations
What Illinois Is Missing
- Firearm registration
- Assault weapon restrictions
- Large capacity magazine ban
- Bulk firearm purchase restrictions
- Local authority to regulate firearms
- Safe storage laws
SPOTLIGHT
GUN LAW SCORECARD
The data is clear: states with stronger gun laws have less gun violence. See how your state compares in our annual ranking.
Read MoreEXPLORE ILLINOIS’S GUN LAWS
WHO CAN HAVE A GUN
OWNER RESPONSIBILITIES
CHILD & CONSUMER SAFETY
GUNS IN PUBLIC
HARDWARE & AMMUNITION
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We’re in this together. To build a safer America—one where children and parents in every neighborhood can learn, play, work, and worship without fear of gun violence—we need you standing beside us in this fight.
